a visual expedition of sorts

People of Stoner Park

Got the opportunity to skate Stoner Plaza in L.A. a few weeks ago and wow what a fun park. Not only is it fun to skate and roll around but there are so many recognizable faces there that its hard not to just sit and watch them all skate. Joey Brezinski, Daniel Castillo, Chris Roberts, Elijah Berle (who is now one of my fav skaters after seeing him rip around on a ZipZinger) and Mark Appleyard just to name a few. Anyway, here are some portraits and quick stories from the trip.

I was chillin just watching dudes skate and Appleyard sat next to me for a bit of a water break and we started chatting away. I told him I was from Toronto area and then we went on to discuss how much Canada sucks if you want to skate all the time. Long story short he basically said he is never going back to Canada unless somehow we acquire a tropical bit of land somewhere. Anyway, I was stoked to meet this dude and chill. Super mellow guy and really friendly. Its always nice when one of your favorite skaters turns out to be a rad dude.

Met this dude just as I was leaving the park and he commented on my camera so I was like “thanks, can I take your picture?” he said yes and that was that. His name is Hunter.

Saw Yoon Sul just as he was hoping on his bike here and leaving the park. So I skated over and asked if it was cool if I took his photo. Then he said that he has the same Pentax film camera which we both received in the same way – as a hand-me-down from our fathers. Hurray for Dads who like pictures!

Chatted with John here for a while at the park. Super nice guy who moved to L.A. a 6 months ago from Vermont. He is a fellow photographer so we had a lot in common. He is trying to make it out in L.A. as a commercial photog – best of luck to ya man, I wish you the best. During out skate session he blew through his shoe – bummed.